With all the push for more technology, all the wonderful advances made in various tools we can use in the classroom, and all the discussion about state testing it is often easy to lose sight of what is important. Technology is wonderful – I use it every day in my classroom. However, we also need to remember the children whose lives are being impacted. Some students have a way of opening our eyes and helping us to remember what is most important: the kids.
Early in this school year I found myself amused and touched by a conversation with one of my students. She walked up to me in the hallway, smiling.
Student: “Mrs. Moore, you are awesome.”
Me, smiling: “Well, I think you are awesome, too!”
Student: “Do you know why I said that?”
Me: “Because I am awesome?”
Student, laughing: “Well, yeah…but also because sometimes I may have a bad day and I want you to know that I think you are awesome so I won’t get into trouble.”
I found myself laughing out loud and I remember thinking about how she was making a deposit for any future rough days. This became a ritual for the two of us. Every couple of days she would approach me in the hall, give me a little hug and say with a bright smile, “Mrs. Moore, you are awesome.” To which I always respond, “No, YOU are awesome.”
I did not realize how much those deposits were for me as much as they were for her.
Not too long ago I was having a bad day myself – you know how that goes: oversleep, forget things at home, nothing works right, students didn’t have their assignments, and so on. I could feel the pounding of a headache as I struggled to keep smiling for the students and not vent my frustration. Apparently, my efforts at keeping my feelings inside were not entirely successful, because that student found me in the hall as we were going to lunch.
Student, giving me a hug with a worried expression: “Mrs. Moore, remember I think you are awesome.”
I immediately realized that this was my day to make a withdrawal, and responded, “Thank you. I think you are the most awesome.” Believe it or not, I immediately felt better.
Now, we continue making our daily deposits, sometimes arguing over who is most awesome. Obviously, she is!
In the meantime, I think it is important to remember that all the technology in the world cannot replace that feeling of joy we get from helping our students. All that technology is wonderful – but it is nothing without the smiling faces of the students who are eagerly exploring, looking, experimenting, and learning with that technology.
Those kids are awesome.
Christine Moore currently holds a degree in education and psychology from Howard Payne University and has a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. She is now working on her Ph.D. in Educational Technology at Walden University. Married with four children who attend Brownwood schools, Christine teaches 6th grade reading in Brownwood and has been working in education at various levels for the past 16 years. You can read her blog, Technology in Schools, at http://edtech-school.blogspot.com/. Christine welcomes your questions and comments and would love to hear from you!